Shuttle-driving mechanism.



H. A. BALLARD. SHUTTLE DRIVING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1908.

' Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

HARRIE A. BALLARD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

.ASSIGNOR TO THE BOYLSTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHUTTLE-DRIVING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 141, 1914.

Application filed September 29, 1908. Serial No. 455,330.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, IIARRIE A. BALLARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, in thecounty of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shuttle-Driving Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lock-stitch sewing machines and especially to shoe-sewing machines, in which acontinuously revolving shuttle is employed. In a machine of this class, the needle thread is passed over the shuttle in the form of a loop for the purpose of interlocking it with the shuttle thread, and, since some kind of driving contact must be made with the shuttle in order to rotate it, the contact of whatever form it may be is liable to present a serious obstruction to the passage of the loopedthread.

The object. of the present invention is to provide a driving mechanism for the shuttle, which, though moving continuously in-one direction, shall permit the loop to pass unobstructed thereover. In carrying out the invention, the driving mechanism is composed of a combination of two devices which operate alternately in engaging and driving the shuttle. The said devices are so arranged that the loop may pass first one and then the other, the first device being re tracted at the time when the loop is to pass it, at which time the other driving device is operatively engaged with the shuttle. The first device is so actuated as to operatively engage the shuttle after the passage of the loop at that point, and to cause the shuttle to leave the second driving device even though all the moving parts continue in the same direction. In this way one point of driving is closed after the passage of the loop and at the same instant the other point is opened in advance of the arrival of the loop, thus enablingthe loop to pass entirely over and leave the shuttle without having to force an opening at any point.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention,- Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a shuttle mounted in a shuttle race. Fig. 2 represents a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation of the shuttlerace and driving devices. Fig. 4;

- Fig. 2) and a bobbin 13.

represents a section on the line 47-4: of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents a front elevation of a shuttle. Fig. 6 represents an edge view thereof. Fig. 7 represents a front view of the shuttle at the time of casting off a loop. Figs. 8 and 9 represent sections on the line 88 of Fig. '7 respectively before and after actuation of the retractible driving device. Fig. 10 represents a perspective view of said device.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.

The terms hereinafter used to designate the various parts are solely for the purpose of description, and it is not intended that they should limit the invention to any one specific form,

011 the drawings, 11 represents a shuttle adapted to contain a bobbin holder 12 (see The shuttle is substantially circular except that its periphery is cut away at various places as hereinafter described.

1d represents a flange or rib on the periphery of the shuttle, which rib is adapted to fit loosely in a groove 15 of a shuttle race. The groove in this embodiment of the invention is afforded by two contiguous stationary parts, namely, a housing 16 and cap 17. The housing and cap are circular except where an opening or throat 18 is provided for the entrance and exit of the looped needle thread The housing-is shown as mounted upon a fragment of a frame 19 and having a heating chamber 20. The space within the housing constitutes a shuttle chamber 21 in which the shuttle and its driving devices are installed.

The bobbin holder 12 as herein shown may be removed from the shuttle without removing the shuttle from the race, and the means shown for retaining the bobbin holder in the shuttle include an arm 22 pivoted at 23, and a locking bar 2 1 therefor. The free end of the arm 22 is adapted to bestraddle a rib 25 formed. on the exterior of the holder and so to prevent rotation of the holder when the shuttle is in motion. At this point, the contact of the arm with the holder is loose and is adapted to permit the passage of the thread a as hereinafter explained. The arm has a set-screw 26 which is adapted to be engaged by the locking 24, The

bar is pivotally mounted upon a screw bolt 27 upon which it may be swung so as to disengage the set screw and free the arm 22.

The devices hereinbefore described form no part of the present invention but are given merely to make clear the description following.

Referring now to Figs, 5 and 6, it Wlll be seen that the periphery of the shuttle is cut away comparatively slightly at 30 which is the point at which the loop a of the thread a is cast off. A short distance from this first cut, the periphery is cut away still more leaving shoulders 31 and 32. By so cutting away the shuttle, a segmental space is pro- 7 vided when the shuttle is in the race, be-

tween the shuttle and the housing. The space so provided is for the purpose of receiving a segmental flange 33 formed on a driver 34. The driver is formed on one end of a rotatable shaft 35 which is mounted in a bearing 36 of the frame 19 and which may be driven continuously in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 3 and 4.

The driver 34 revolves in the housing and is adapted to drive the shuttle by engagement of the forward end 37 of the flange 33 with the point 31. With the exception of this point, there is a clear space between the driver and the shuttle through which the loop a2 may pass. The space between the body of the driver and the shuttle is apparent in Fig. 2, while the space between the flange 33 and the shuttle is indicated at 38 in Figs. 1 and 7.

In addition to the flange the driver carries a supplementary device in the form of a follower 40 having a V-shaped nose 41 adapted to enter a Vshaped notch 42 formed n the rear wall of the shuttle. The follower 40 is pivotally mounted in the driver upon a pin 43 and is normally retracted from the shuttle by a spring 44 (seeFigs. 2 and 3). When the driver is in contact with the face 31, as shown by Fig. 1, the nose 41 of the follower .is slightly in advance of the notch 42, as shown by Fig. 8. The nose, however, is adapted to be forced into the notch, and, when soforced, the inclined edge 45 engages the inclined wall 46 of the notch and moves the shuttle relatively to the driver in the direction indicated by the aforesaid arrows. By this means, the driven face 31 of the shuttle is advanced away from the driving point of the driver leaving a space which is shown by Fig. 7. The means herein shown for actuating the follower 40 as described is an inclined block 47 aflixed to the frame 16 and shown in Figs. 2, 3, 8 and 9. The other'edge of the V-shaped nose, said edge being indicated at 41 in Fig. 10, is also inclined. If the loop of needle thread should engage the nose, the loop would be deflected by'this inclined edge so that it-would not be caught'by the follower.

which places the loop in the throat 18 in the path of the oncoming shoulder The latter takes the loop which may be opened or spread by any suitable devices, and one side of the loop slips over the front side of the shuttle while the other slips over the rear side and passes between the notch 42 and the nose of the retracted follower 40. At this stage, the shuttle is being driven by the driving point 37, which the bend of the loop a approaches at a later time. At the time when the shoulder 32 arrives at the highest point of its circle, the .follower is about to engage the inclined block 47 asshown by Fig. 8. NVhen the follower does engage'the block, it is moved toward the shuttle causing the face 45 to engage the wall 46 of the notch as shown by Fig. 9. This movement of the follower, in addition to'its rotary movement with the driver, advances the shuttle relatively to the driver and thus opens a space between the point 37 and the face 31 as shown in Fig. 7. The loop. a: is now free to be cast off, and, by the operation of suitable takeup mechanism (not shown), the bend of the loop maybe drawn over the shoulder 31 into the space30 from which it may escape when it reaches the throat 18. The front side of the loop 00 meanwhile passes freely between the arm 22 and rib 25 which are very loosely engaged, and the loop is ready to be drawn down to the work. As soon as the follower 40 leaves the block 47, it is again retracted andthedrag upon the shuttle retards it until the point 37 again engages the shoulder 31. Y V

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of constructing and using-the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or all of the modes of its use, what I claim is 1. Shuttle driving mechanism comprising a circular shuttle race, a shuttle movable therein, a rotary driver and drive the shuttle, driver, a member arranged upon saidpivot to rotate with the driver, said member and shuttle having faces adapted to coact, and

arranged to engage a pivot carried by said means for turning said member about its pivot to engage the shuttle and advance it from said driver, said member-being retractable from the path of the shuttle and from the path of the loop of thread which passes over the shuttle. V

2. Shuttle driving mechanism comprising a circular shuttle. race,- "a shuttle movable therein, a rotary'jdriver arranged w'tfigag'e and drive the shuttle, a pivot mounted on and carried by said driver, an oscillatory member arranged on said pivot so as to be movable toward and from the shuttle, said shuttle and said oscillatory member having coactive faces, a fixed cam arranged to engage the back of said member to cause it to engage the shuttle and move it ahead of the driver, and spring-tension means for retracting said oscillatory member.

3. Shuttle driving mechanism comprising a circular shuttle race, a shuttle movable therein, a rotary driver arranged to engage and drive the shuttle, a member pivotally mounted on and carried by the driver so as to be adapted to engage the shuttle, said member and shuttle having coactive faces adapted to move the shuttle ahead of the driver, and said member having an inclined face arranged to guide the loop of needle thread between said follower and the shuttle.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HARRIE A. BALLARD. Witnesses:

CHARLES W. RICHARDS, BERTHA VI. WOODBURY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

